Branding a pop-up thrift store and art show.
As design chair of The Thrifty Mellon, Carnegie Mellon’s student-run thrift club, I spearheaded the design of graphics and promotional materials for our largest event yet: a 2-day pop-up thrift store and gallery show at The Frame Gallery at CMU. We sold donated clothes for $1 each, promoting sustainable and affordable clothing on campus alongside an art show of students’ handmade textile projects. The event was a huge success; we sold over 500 pieces of clothing and had a packed store each day. It was incredible to see lines form out the door as we prepared to open, and see friends gathering in the space.
Graphic Design, Photography, & Exhibition Design
Time: October - November 2024, 3 weeks Role: lead designer; worked alongside executive team of 6 on event planning
Tools: InDesign, collage
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN
To bring other club members into the design process, I created a simple design system that would allow for cocreation and collaboration so everyone could create a unique but cohesive poster. I prepared for the workshop by printing the base text onto colored construction paper, and printing and cutting out all of the assets and letters so that people could arrange and layer them as desired. Members also brought buttons, thread, ribbon, and fabric to add to the posters.
I then photographed the posters amongst fabric scraps, thread, and buttons to use as social media content. Our theme for the event was “yard sale,” so I leaned into a DIY, hand-done feel for the branding to lean into the friendly, approachable feeling of our club and thrifting.
EXHIBIT DESIGN
We leaned into the yard sale theme by using ladders, crates, and clotheslines to display clothing and signage. We transformed an on-campus student-run gallery into our own space in just 3 days.
CRAFT TABLE
Keeping with the collage theme of the posters, we created a craft table that let visitors create their own quilt squares to be added to a collaborative Thrifty Mellon quilt. .
PHOTO GALLERY